Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience
To ensure food and feed security, modern maize hybrids must not only perform well under changing climate conditions but also consistently achieve higher and stable yields, exhibit maximum tolerance to stress factors, and produce high quality grains. In a study conducted in 2022 and 2023, 50 maize hy...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| author | Călin Popa Roxana Elena Călugăr Andrei Varga Edward Muntean Ioan Băcilă Carmen Daniela Vana Ionuț Racz Nicolae Tritean Ioana Virginia Berindean Andreea D. Ona Leon Muntean |
| author_facet | Călin Popa Roxana Elena Călugăr Andrei Varga Edward Muntean Ioan Băcilă Carmen Daniela Vana Ionuț Racz Nicolae Tritean Ioana Virginia Berindean Andreea D. Ona Leon Muntean |
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| description | To ensure food and feed security, modern maize hybrids must not only perform well under changing climate conditions but also consistently achieve higher and stable yields, exhibit maximum tolerance to stress factors, and produce high quality grains. In a study conducted in 2022 and 2023, 50 maize hybrids were developed from crosses of five elite (highly productive) inbred lines and ten lines possessing favorable genes for carotenoid content. These hybrids were tested under particularly unfavorable conditions for maize cultivation. The aim was to identify which lines effectively transmit the desired traits to the offspring (general combining ability—GCA), and to identify superior hybrids in terms of productivity, adaptability, and quality (specific combining ability—SCA). The study revealed that total carotenoids ranged from 2.30 to 40.20 μg/g for the inbred lines and from 7.45 to 25.08 μg/g for hybrids. A wider distribution of values was observed in the inbred lines compared to the hybrids for key carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, and β-carotene. Among the hybrids, notable performers in yield, adaptability, and carotenoid content included E390×D302, A452×D302, and A447×D302. The paternal inbred line D302 exhibited a high general combining ability for yield (1446 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) and, when crossed with several inbred lines, produced hybrids with enhanced yields and higher levels of zeaxanthin, lutein, and β-carotene, as well as improved unbroken plants percent. |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e0963bc264c4194931cbb2bf546615d2025-01-10T13:19:53ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-01-0114113810.3390/plants14010138Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate ResilienceCălin Popa0Roxana Elena Călugăr1Andrei Varga2Edward Muntean3Ioan Băcilă4Carmen Daniela Vana5Ionuț Racz6Nicolae Tritean7Ioana Virginia Berindean8Andreea D. Ona9Leon Muntean10Department of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăstur St., 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaAgricultural Research and Development Station Turda, Agriculturii 27, 401100 Turda, RomaniaAgricultural Research and Development Station Turda, Agriculturii 27, 401100 Turda, RomaniaAgricultural Research and Development Station Turda, Agriculturii 27, 401100 Turda, RomaniaInstitute of Biological Research, Branch of the National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, Department of Experimental Biology and Biochemistry, 48 Republicii Street, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaAgricultural Research and Development Station Turda, Agriculturii 27, 401100 Turda, RomaniaAgricultural Research and Development Station Turda, Agriculturii 27, 401100 Turda, RomaniaAgricultural Research and Development Station Turda, Agriculturii 27, 401100 Turda, RomaniaDepartment of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăstur St., 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăstur St., 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Mănăstur St., 400372 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaTo ensure food and feed security, modern maize hybrids must not only perform well under changing climate conditions but also consistently achieve higher and stable yields, exhibit maximum tolerance to stress factors, and produce high quality grains. In a study conducted in 2022 and 2023, 50 maize hybrids were developed from crosses of five elite (highly productive) inbred lines and ten lines possessing favorable genes for carotenoid content. These hybrids were tested under particularly unfavorable conditions for maize cultivation. The aim was to identify which lines effectively transmit the desired traits to the offspring (general combining ability—GCA), and to identify superior hybrids in terms of productivity, adaptability, and quality (specific combining ability—SCA). The study revealed that total carotenoids ranged from 2.30 to 40.20 μg/g for the inbred lines and from 7.45 to 25.08 μg/g for hybrids. A wider distribution of values was observed in the inbred lines compared to the hybrids for key carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, and β-carotene. Among the hybrids, notable performers in yield, adaptability, and carotenoid content included E390×D302, A452×D302, and A447×D302. The paternal inbred line D302 exhibited a high general combining ability for yield (1446 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) and, when crossed with several inbred lines, produced hybrids with enhanced yields and higher levels of zeaxanthin, lutein, and β-carotene, as well as improved unbroken plants percent.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/1/138general combining abilityspecial combining abilitytotal carotenoidszeaxanthinluteinyield |
| spellingShingle | Călin Popa Roxana Elena Călugăr Andrei Varga Edward Muntean Ioan Băcilă Carmen Daniela Vana Ionuț Racz Nicolae Tritean Ioana Virginia Berindean Andreea D. Ona Leon Muntean Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience Plants general combining ability special combining ability total carotenoids zeaxanthin lutein yield |
| title | Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience |
| title_full | Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience |
| title_short | Evaluating Maize Hybrids for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and Carotenoid Content: Insights into Breeding for Climate Resilience |
| title_sort | evaluating maize hybrids for yield stress tolerance and carotenoid content insights into breeding for climate resilience |
| topic | general combining ability special combining ability total carotenoids zeaxanthin lutein yield |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/1/138 |
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